The Other Magic World
by PadmeSkywalker540
Summary: After Vidal shoots Ofelia, she falls and wakes up in the Land of Oz where she is taken in by a fleeing Elphaba and Fieyero. post-musical. My first story and crossover. R&R.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: I do not own either Pan's Labyrinth or Wicked.**_

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**Prologue**

"No!", Ofelia cried.

Turning around, Vidal pointed his silencer at Ofelia's stomach. He pulled the trigger. The hard feeling in her gut caused her to stop in her tracks. Still looking at Vidal and her brother she began to wobble in her stance. Her breath was becoming rigid. Ofelia placed her hand down to her stomach where Vidal had shot her. Blood covered her entire hand. At that moment, she saw the area before her begin to spin. As she lost control of her legs, the spinning accelerated. As she hit the ground, visions began to appear before her: a moment on the playground with her father pushing her in the swing, the two of them with her mother dancing in the living room, her father's placid face in the casket, talking to her mother's belly, the face of her baby brother sleeping peacefully, Pan, the Pale Man, her mother's funeral, the beautiful lullaby Mercedes sang to her.

When she closed her eyes and opened them again the spinning stopped. She lay in a grassy area right next to a dark black wall. As her vision was fading away, she saw one of the strangest silhouettes through the grass blades. A scarecrow and a beautiful green-skinned woman turning around the corner of the dark wall.


	2. A Narrow Escape

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Pan's Labyrinth or Wicked.**

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Elphaba blinked twice. Was that light green lump off in the distance there before? She shrugged her shoulders and started to walk away but Fieyero pulled her back.

"Let's just check what it is to be safe," he said.

"But Yer-," Elphaba started but Fieyero immediately shushed her. He looked back to the figure in the field.

"I thought I saw something moving," he noted. "It'll only be a short while Elphie. Then we can get going."

Elphaba nodded. Quietly the two moved through the tall green blades closer and closer to the mysterious object in the grass. As they were getting closer, they discovered that the figure was in fact moving.

"Yero, I'm not sure what-,"

"Ssshh! I think I hear breathing."

"Me too. Is it an Animal?"

"No. It sounds human. Like…a child."

The breathing became a little bit louder as they moved closer. After they removed the last of the tall grass blades in front of them, they gasped in horror of the sight that lay on the earth below.

"It was a child!", Fieyero exclaimed. "Oh my Oz! All of that blood!" Fieyero knelt closer to the child. Noticing the dress and the hair pin, he figured out the child was a girl who appeared to be about nine or ten years old. Blood oozed out from her stomach and her nostrils. Elphaba, feeling nauseous, began to step backwards into the blades. Fieyero turned around just as she was.

"Where are you going?", he demanded.

"I can't…no…we can't," she replied, stuttering.

"She's dying Elphie! We can't just leave her here!"

"I just…I can't do it."

"Elphaba…"

"Everything good I've tried to do, I've always made worse. I don't want the girl to die as much as you do, but I'm done trying to do anymore good for anybody."

"That's not true Elphie! You have done good. You saved me! And if you have the power to save me, you have the power to save her!"

"Fieyero it's-"

"No excuses!"

Elphaba knelt down besides Fieyero. The girl could barely open her eyes. Her chest ever so slightly moved now. The fresh blood still flowed from the wound. Elphaba sensed the feeling of guilt and a silver tear began to roll down her cheek. The girl was so young. By all prospects in this universe her life had just began. And here she was, lying on the ground bleeding to death.

"Oh Oz! Why?", Elphaba stated as another tear fell out of her other eye.

She knew now that she had to save her. The girl did not deserve to die, not like this. Why should any child have to die? She had to save her, but without the Grimmerie, which now resided with Glinda, the right spell was not in front of her. Wiping away her tears, she turned to Fieyero.

"I don't know what spell to use," she said quietly. Fieyero put a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll come Fabala," he encouraged her by using the childhood nickname she told him about. "It'll come."

Taking a huge deep breath, Elphaba placed her hand on the little girl's forehead. She tried her hardest to remember the spell.

"Think Elphie! Think! Think!", she mumbled to herself. "Try and remember!"

Ruffling sounds where heard off in the fields on the other side of Kiamo Ko. Fieyero became nervous and started to shake violently.

"Hurry up Elphie!", he whispered desperately.

"I've got it!", she exclaimed and she began to chant the spell over the dying girl's face. A round metal bullet lay on the blood-soaked earth. The girl's eyes opened wide and she gave a wheezing breath. Elphaba let out a sigh of relief. The girl moved her head up and the two sets of eyes met each other. Elphaba put her hand on the girl's shoulder. Fieyero moved by her side.

"It's okay little one," he spoke softly trying hard not to scare her. The girl panted and slipped back to unconsciousness.

"Oh no!", he stated.

"She'll be fine," Elphaba reassured him. The ruffling noises became louder.

"Let's go now dear!"

"I'll carry her Yero."

Elphaba wrapped her right arm around the girl's shoulders and her left arm under her knees and lifted her up. The girl's head moved inward towards the middle of her chest.

"Come on let's go!", Fieyero shouted.

And off they ran, right when a mob of Ozians from the Emerald City began to start a fire to Kiamo Ko Castle. After they ran deep into the woods, they found an open patch in the middle to set up camp. The last they saw of Kiamo Ko Castle was the colors of orange and yellow around the black outline.

Fieyero laid a blanket on the patch of dirt and Elphaba gently laid the girl on top of it, supporting her head as she lay her down. At the same time, Fieyero ripped off a long piece of his shirt and wrapped it around the little girl's wound. He then grabbed a pile of sticks and Elphaba started the fire with a simple spell. Then she went back to tending the girl. She took a wet cloth and wiped away the dried blood from the girl's face, neck, and hands. When she was done, she could see that she was a very pretty little girl. She appeared to have a little bit of a baby face, but her facial features had a sharp definition to them nonetheless. She also bore wavy, short, dark hair that slightly curled at her cheeks. Elphaba felt relieved that the she was going to be alright but she just couldn't understand where the girl came from and why someone wanted to kill her because the wound on her abdomen was not accidental. She turned over to shortly gaze at Fieyero was already asleep on the other side of the fire.

Suddenly, the girl stirred. Elphaba gave a quiet gasp then put her hand over her mouth. The girl stopped stirring and fell asleep again. Elphaba exhaled as quietly as she could. Carefully, she brushed away a piece of hair from the girl's face. She looked peaceful, like a little angel. Elphaba felt as if she could stare at her all night. She set a blanket in the middle of the girl and Fieyero. As she laid down on her back she heard a faint melody coming from the girl. She was humming. It was something that she had never heard before, but it was very beautiful, and yet somehow bittersweet at the same time. Elphaba figured out that this tune must be a lullaby because she soon found herself drifting off to sleep.

Knowing that it was the only comfort in this strange place, little Ofelia turned over on her side and kept humming the lullaby to keep herself calm. After about an hour, she stopped and slept, trying to recall the short-lasting images that were imprinted in her mind.


	3. Nightmare

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pan's Labyrinth or Wicked.**_

"_No! No! Don't take him!", Ofelia shouted tugging at Vidal's sleeve._

"_Let go of me you crazy little bitch!", he snarled back at her. "How dare you try and run away with my son!"_

"_He may be your son, but he is also my brother," Ofelia replied. "And I'm not letting you hurt him like you hurt me."_

"_Oh", Vidal said coolly. "And how do you think you're going to do that? By going off to some hokey fantasy world that you've read in that junk?"_

"_Yes…I promised I would make him a prince," she stuttered._

_Vidal pulled out his silencer and backed Ofelia to the edge of the portal. "Oh. And you think you're the fair beautiful princess who has everything perfect for her in her life. Think again little bitch! This world is not perfect and it will never be perfect for anyone! Not even myself as you can see what is happening to me."_

"_I'm glad," Ofelia stated boldly. "People don't deserve to live under people like you. People like you are the reason why the world is not perfect. You tell people what to do and if nothing goes your way you shoot them dead or do other sorts of horrible things that cause them pain and suffering." Vidal cocked the silencer at Ofelia's stomach. She gulped, but then gained the courage to speak what she had always wanted to say to him._

"_You're a monster!"_

"_Shut up you insolent cunt!", he shouted. "I knew you were trouble from the first time I saw you. Always with your head in the clouds and a nose in some stupid book. And now you pulling these crazy stunts, like that smelly piece of shit I found under your mother's bed and now taking my son to some imaginary friend. No wonder your mother had problems before he was born. No wonder why she died the way she did. YOU caused it all to happen because of your dangerous schemes! Well let me tell you this once and for all little bitch, life is not one of your fairy tales and here's one way to learn your lesson well!"_

_He pulled the trigger of the silencer. Ofelia fell into the portal hole but she did not stop on the ground. She kept falling, and falling and falling, until black encased her entire view of the world above._

Fieyero opened his eyes to the dim dawn light in the distance. Rain clouds encompassed the entire frame of the sky except for the sunrise. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and gave a deep sigh. He rose and hobbled to the edge of the woods where some black smoke still rose from spot where Kiamo Ko once stood. He surveyed the senseless damage. A portion of the stone was still there, but everything else was trashed. The debris lay closed inside the walls. The moat was colored ash grey. The once majestic landmark now resembled an ancient ruin. Fieyero shook his head. It wasn't necessary for this kind of destruction.

"People are so empty-headed."

As the sun moved into the clouds, he shuffled back to the campstie. Elphaba and the little girl were still asleep. The girl seemed to have stopped bleeding hours ago as the color on the makeshift bandage was turning into a rust color. He felt a little less uneasy knowing that she was going to be fine.

Sashaying ever so quietly over to Elphaba so he wouldn't wake her, he knelt behind her back. He brushed his finger on her cheek. Her skin was smooth like velvet. He moved his finger down her tender neck, her strong shoulder, and at her elbow he gently sat it in front of her torso to feel her curve. An intense desire filled his mind. The urge to feel her body once more. To move with her, to touch her freely. Their moment back in the woods. So real. So refreshing. He stopped at the tip of her hip bone and began to move forwards towards her pubic area but the next noise made him stop in his tracks.

The little girl awoke. Her piercing scream sounded as if massive chunks of her flesh were being ripped away. Fieyero jerked away his hand and Elphaba fell to her stomach as she opened her eyes. The little girl began to wheeze and whimper. Elphaba pushed herself up from the ground.

"Go to her Elphie!", Fieyero shouted. The girl's whimpers turned into a wailing moan.

"What do I do?", she spoke frantically. "I don't know the first thing about children."

"Well, just try something to get her to stop screaming. Somebody could hear her and then…"

"OKAY! OKAY!", Elphaba shouted.

She crawled over to where the little girl excessively tossed and turned. Elphaba grunted. This was going to be like caring for a newborn baby. Still, it pained her inside to see the girl in such distress.

"Hey," she said in a pianissimo voice. "Hey kid." The girl wheezed again and resumed crying. Fieyero, looking a little impatient and anxious in the face, shook his head.

"Try something else," he said. Elphaba leaned over by the girl's ear.

"Little one?", she breathed. The girl's volume seemed to tone down but the crying still did not cease. Fieyero began to look a little more impatient, but moved by Elphaba's side.

"No! No! Mama!", the girl shouted loudly. "Mama no sale! Mama…MAMA!"

Elphaba seemed puzzled at the girl's language. She had never heard anything like it before. She knew the girl was shouting for her mother, but she could not understand what she was trying to mean by it. But then when the girl began to grope her hands in the air as she called out, she immediately knew what it stood for. _Mother, don't leave. _

Elphaba barely knew her own mother, but her absence had given her a small sense of loneliness throughout her life. It had hurt her to see all of the other young girls have tender moments with their mothers, and with her father always doting on Nessa, she felt as if she had no real parental figure to actually care for her. Perhaps the little girl had lost her mother and she was calling for her to return, even though she couldn't. Elphaba now felt a little more taken in, knowing possibly that she and the girl shared the same feeling of heartache.

She adjusted her sitting stance and brushed the girl's forehead gently.

"Little one," she whispered. "I know. I know." The girl began to calm down significantly, but choked on her tears.

Without thinking, Elphaba pulled the girl's head to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her shoulder blades. She slowly began to sway back and forth. Fieyero wrapped his arms around Elphaba's back and placed one hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Sshhh, ssshhh," Fieyero murmured. "You're alright." The girl gave a deep sigh and stopped crying. Elphaba stopped swaying.

"You did great," Fieyero whispered to Elphaba.

"I-I did," she said, amazed at herself. "Yeah, I guess I did." The girl wiped away the few remaining tears from her eyes and crossed her arms and rubbed them steadily.

"I never thought I had it in me," she said back to him.

"You never really know what things can do unless you try," he replied. "I made a chance to try you, and it was the best decision I ever made". She sweetly kissed his cheek.

Ofelia did not understand every word in the English language but she knew enough to tell that these two strangers were not going to harm her. The bitter taste of the nightmare still lingered on in her mind, but she felt serene once she had opened her eyes to the unfamiliar woods, and their calming words. She didn't know how she could repay them for being so kind. All she could do was wrap her arms around the green-skinned woman's back and mutter two of the simplest words she learned.

"T-Thank you."

Elphaba felt a little surprised by the girl's action and couple of words, but was nonetheless flattered by the girl's grace. The two turned their heads to face each other. Elphaba smiled sheepishly. The girl smile was small but, angelic.

"You're welcome," she replied.

The small smile turned into a grin.


	4. Introductions

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Pan's Labyrinth or Wicked. Sorry this took awhile. School consumes my life. Yes! I borrowed a line from Wizard of Oz! Thank you to eppie and Soul225 for the reviews and the actors who inspire my image: Ivana Baquero (Ofelia), Norbert Leo Butz (Fieyero, and a fellow St. Louisian! **__****__**), and Idina Menzel (Elphaba).**_

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Elphaba felt a little awkward after she embraced her for a few moments.

"Ummm…You can let go now," she told the girl. Realizing that she still tightly gripped her waist, Ofelia let her hands drop, a little shamefully.

"Oh…I'm sorry," she phrased as best as she could, though her r's rolled in her "sorry".

"That's okay," Elphaba replied Ofelia hugged her knees o her chest and rested her head on top of her knees

"Did you have a nightmare?" Fieyero asked. Ofelia nodded. "Can you tell us what happened?" Ofelia looked away.

"I…I don't want to…" she searched for the right words, "…to speak of it," she stuttered. Elphaba rubbed her back.

"I can understand if you don't want you," she spoke softly. Ofelia turned her head to her.

"How did you find me?" she asked. Elphaba and Fieyero exchanged glances.

"We were running towards the woods and we noticed a green lump in the grass. I became curious, so I mentioned to her and we went towards it. As we got closer we heard breathing and then sure enough, we found you lying on the ground and fading fast. If it wouldn't have been for Elphie's spell, you would have-"

"Spell?" Ofelia stated with shock and a slight intensity. She turned to Elphaba. "Are you some sort of fairy?" she asked almost out of breath. Elphaba looked curiously at the girl and shook her head.

"No."

"Well, what are you then, since you have some sort of power with magic?" she asked reverently.

Elphaba gulped. How could she explain this nicely to the girl without scaring her? She looked at Fieyero for assistance. He made a gesture with his hands that read, _Just tell her like it is._ She made an eye roll and turned back to the anxious little girl.

She took a deep breath and spoke, "Well…I'm a witch."

"Oh."

Ofelia felt baffled by this response. This woman certainly did not look like the witches she read about; nevertheless she didn't act like the witches she had read about either. She usually pictured pale-looking, elderly women with warts, wrinked skin, white stringy hair, and crooked teeth who were very evil and unfeeling towards young children like herself.

The woman-was her name Elphie?-seemed to be the complete opposite. She was very comforting towards her. She had saved her life where most witches she read about would have probably killed her already, and surprisingly, Ofelia somehow sensed that she and the woman probably shared the same pain. Hadn't she said, "I know" as she was calming her?

The woman also had beautiful features. There was lush, wavy hair; strands the color of ebony that sparkled in the dim sunlight and fell down to her waist. Her body was lean and physically fit with a defined curve from her chest to her hips like all of the other young beautiful women she had seen before back in Spain. The features of her nose, cheekbones, and chin were very sharp but combined with an exquisite softness, especially in her chocolate brown eyes.

No. She couldn't be a witch, but from all that she knew, she was in another world, so maybe witches in this world were different from the ones in her beloved stories.

"Well perdóname…excuse me," she began, "but I've never seen a beautiful witch before." The words flew out of her mouth before she could think clearly.

Elphaba opened her mouth in shock and awe. Out of all of the people who commented on her appearance in her lifetime, this was the first one, besides Fieyero, that was completely positive and did not seem to mind about her green skin; the abomination to everyone else.

"I…I," she was speechless. Ofelia became curious again.

"What? Haven't people told you that you were beautiful before?" she asked.

"Only him," Elphaba said pointing toward Fieyero. "And never when anyone first met me."

"Really?" Ofelia stated. She moved over and touched Elphaba's cheek with her palm. A little surprised, Elphaba slightly went stiff. The's girl's hand was nearly frozen. Ofelia's face was filled with fascination.

"It's so smooth," she exclaimed. "Does everybody here have green skin?"

"No," Elphaba replied firmly. Ofelia shuddered a little. Elphaba noticed her reaction, and then spoke again with calmness. "Everyone's skin is like yours mostly." Ofelia took her hand down and put it in her lap.

"Why is it different?" she asked. Elphaba shrugged her shoulders.

"I was born like this. I don't understand why because both of my parents were fair-skinned," she began to explain. "Growing up, I was always made fun of; always ostracized. Even my own father looked down upon me. My sister did care for me but she was also ashamed as well."

"I'm sorry," Ofelia said her r's rolling again.

"I guess I felt that way too," Fieyero added, "But not for long. Once I looked past your skin, I found something that was unlike anything that I had ever found before." Ofelia sighed at the sweet comment.

"I think your skin is beautiful," she spoke somewhat slowly. "It makes you very u…un" she stumbled in her speech.

"Unique?" Elphaba suggested.

"Yes that's it!" she enthusiastically responded.

"Thank you little one," Elphaba stated, slightly blushing. "I feel quite flattered."

"You are welcome," she replied heartily. "I'm sorry if I sound a little broken in this language. I haven't learned all of it yet."

"We're more than happy to help," Fieyero said. Ofelia smiled. She then noticed Elphaba's hand move towards her hip and grasp the top of Fieyero's. She averted her eyes away for a moment. By what she had said and heard, she made the assumption but did not think she had anything to prove it with. She lost herself again.

"Are you l-lovers?" she blurted out.

Elphaba, realizing that Ofelia had seen Fieyero's hand move across her lower waist, pushed it behind her. She gave him a scolding look.

"Behave yourself," she hissed. Slightly stunned, Fieyero turned to Ofelia, who looked a little disturbed.

"I apologize little one," he said.

"I will take that as a yes," Ofelia replied flustered. "¡Ay de mí! Forgive me saying this but you two make somewhat of an odd couple."

"Well you make somewhat of an odd little girl," Elphaba replied. There was a slight pregnant pause.

"Well," Ofelia began, "that makes three of us." Laughter ensued instantly. Ofelia crawled between the couple and sat contently.

"Whoops!" Fieyero shouted. "I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me!"

He popped up off the ground like a spring but lost his balance as he landed and rolled backwards and then landed flat on his back. Ofelia giggled as she stood up and walked by him. Fieyero stood up, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and bowed to Ofelia and stuck out his hand. She accepted with great pleasure and made a much exaggerated shake.

"My name is Fieyero, and I am very deighted to meet you miss…"

"Ofelia, and I am very glad to make your acquaintance." Elphaba walked up to the two.

"You have a very beautiful name," she said. "It sounds very regal. Perfect for a princess."

"Thank you," Ofelia said, but then her mind thought of other things. _Princess. Princess Moanna._ Her face froze at the thought of what she had left behind. Would she ever find them again? She felt a hand on her shoulder. The green-skinned woman asked softly, "What's wrong little one?"

Ofelia snapped out of her trance. "Oh..umm, noting," she stumbled on the word "nothing". "I am fine." The young woman smiled. She stuck out her hand to Ofelia and they shook tenderly.

"I'm Elphaba," she said. _Elphaba. So beautiful._ She shuddered a little and the fluidity of this pristine sound.

"Es hermosa," Ofelia spoke, rushing again. Elphaba's face deemed a look of puzzlement. _She probably slipped back into her native tongue again._ She didn't care. She was interested in hearing more of it.

"Where I come from, it means 'beautiful,'" said Ofelia, smiling at her savoir. Elphaba decided to give it a try.

"Hermosa," she spoke slowly. "I like it."

Ofelia and the other two giggled at each other, and the crashing noise of thunder was heard in the sky.

"No!" Elphaba shouted. "It's bad enough to be in the woods during a storm, but we also don't have enough materials to make a tent!"

"Then what do you propose we do?" Fieyero retorted, a little nervous. "Run through the Bad Lands now?"

"I'm afraid it's our only choice," Elphaba relpied.

"But what about Ofelia?" he asked. "She may be too weak to run long distances."

Elphaba turned to her. Her face had a look of worry, but it was mixed with a dash of confidence.

"I think I can run," she said. She tried to sprint to a tree ten feet ahead but bent in pain and tripped over a mound of dirt halfway. It felt as if a knife was trying to maneuver its way out of her stomach. Elphaba and Fieyero rushed to her and helped her up.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Elphaba asked her. Ofelia nodded wearily. She wrapped her arms around Elphaba's neck and Elphaba lifted her up by her legs.

"You ready?" she asked Fieyero, who had already gathered the supplies. He nodded. And at the next strike of lightining, they took off through the trees.


	5. Unwanted Feelings

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Pan's Labyrinth or Wicked. Sorry this is kinda short. I took a short break for school and the two Spring Awakening fanfics, "I Will Find You" and "Looking Down", I wrote just recently. Check them out along with my poems if you like. Thanks for the reviews!**_

_***Padme***_

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The prison walls in the Emerald City could not contain her power. It was the one thing Madame Morrible had left after Glinda had stripped her of every other possible right she could have. Appropriately, she felt the need to work up a good thunderstorm to express the multitude of her anger.

But something else panged her mind. That Scarecrow fellow mysteriously disappeared after the little girl clicked her heels. Why the rush? And the most disturbing fact, why did he look so much like…Fieyero?

She scoffed it off muttering to herself, "No, he's dead." But still, the thought ached throughout her mind and her body. Was he really alive? Did by some mysterious chance someone turned him into a scarecrow…Elphaba perhaps?

She grunted at the sound of her name. It's because of _her_ that Glinda threw her in this cell and Glinda was there when she framed _her_ for the spell she put on the monkeys, so of course, Glinda would crack the whip for _her_ to give _her_ the justice that _she _had never received.

Madame Morrible still felt a slight presence of _her_ and it was even to much for her to handle. She wanted to destroy what presence was left of _her_ just like she had destroyed Nessarose before _her._

She was going to rid herself of this feeling, and she did not care who else she hurt in the process.


	6. Fire, Freeze, and Found

**Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked or Pan's Labyrinth. I do own the Lion that will appear.**

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The crash of lightening was so close to Elphaba's back that she could feel the hairs on her neck stick up. Ofelia gripped her more tightly than she had before and she let out a small scream. They were getting closer to the Badlands considering the fact that the trees before them were barren and the line where a brook used to flow was empty. The sand on the ground was turning into mud and making it harder to run in.

Fieyero ended up getting stuck in the mud and was beginning to sink.

"Elphie!" he shouted. Elphaba and Ofelia turned back to find him waist deep in the sediment.

"Fieyero! No!" Ofelia shouted in fear as Elphaba sat her down under a dead Quoxwood tree. Elphaba ran over to pull him up, but when she did, Fieyero was starting to detach from his lower body.

"This isn't going to work," Elphaba shouted, "and if we stay here any longer we're going to get struck into pieces."

"I'll just wiggle out! You can stuff me back later!" he shouted. While he was doing so a bolt of lightening struck the dead tree right next to Ofelia and burst into flames. It spread to the tree right behind it and was coming close to where Ofelia was standing. She darted next to Elphaba just as Fieyero was getting his bottom half out.

"No time! Must run! ¡Rápidamente!" Ofelia blurted as she clutched Elphaba's side.

"But Fieyero has to get back together!" Elphaba shouted scooping her up.

"Let me on your back Fae! I'm dead weight and I'll just carry my other half!" Fieyero exclaimed.

"Yero the sack-"

"I'll hold that too!" Another lightning bolt struck five feet away causing the sack of firewood to burst into flames. "Or not."

"Just grab on!"

Fieyero pulled up his torso and waist underneath one of his armpits and hooked onto the back of Elphaba's neck. She ran a little slower than she had before but it was enough to keep them ahead of the storm. They were approaching a cave when-back in the Emerald City-Madame Morrible was about to unleash the biggest lightning bolt yet but luckily, Glinda had been informed of the trouble she was causing and walked into her cell shouting a freezing spell which petrified Morrible.

"Guards!" she shouted. As she unfroze Morrible, two guards came and thrust her down to the ground. Though older in age, she was still a force for them to contain completely but she was contained enough.

"It had to be done! It had to be done!" she shouted.

"And pretty soon you will be done if I ever discover this going on again," Glinda spoke sternly. She left Morrible to the two guards and walked back to her bed chamber, but she could help but feel strange when Morrible said that something had to be done. What had to be done? Everything was done, for the better and-in the cases of the loss of Elphaba and Fieyero-the worst. She missed them dearly, but still she seemed to feel their presence still lingering, as if they were never dead. Maybe they-? No. She quickly dismissed that thought and then preceded with their duties.

Elphaba, Fieyero, and Ofelia entered into the cave safely but then they did not realize someone was with them. They heard steps and turned around to find an Animal standing behind them. He was a Lion, an adolescent as of the appearance of a growing maine. He stood there staring at them blankly and then gave a sigh of content.

"The Witch of the West? Is it really you?" he questioned. Elphaba was shocked and became defensive putting Ofelia behind her back.

"I swore, I never wanted to do anything wrong with those monkeys-"she stammered.

"No, no. Don't worry ma'am. I believe you. I feel as if I am talking to a ghost. Everyone here was mourning your loss. You have done so much to help my kind and the other Animals," he spoke sincerely. "We are forever grateful to you."

Elphaba let out a sigh of relief. They were on her side. Ofelia looked confused. What was she accused of and who had been after her?

"Is there anyone else here?" Fieyero asked. The Lion shook his head.

"Just me. It's been only me for quite a long time. I am Melchior," he stated.

"Thank you Melchior," Elphaba spoke, "You may call be Elphaba from now on. This is Fieyero and this is Ofelia."

"Ah! The Former Capitan of the Guard," Melchior answered. He turned to Ofelia, "And you are from?"

"España," Ofelia said quietly. Melchior looked interested.

"Where is this España?" he quietly asked.

"We actually don't know," Elphaba stated, "But you wouldn't mind us staying in here to dry off do you?"

"No not at all ma'am. It's an honor."

The four settled down just as the began to appear in the sky.


End file.
